


A Sunflower's Lover REWRITTEN

by mapotofu (owlbethere)



Series: Immortality, Never Finite [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Neck injury, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Tragedy, this is a story based on Apollo and Hyacinth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlbethere/pseuds/mapotofu
Summary: A god and a human were not supposed to meet. But they did, bonding over volleyball. Perhaps it should not have come to Atsumu's surprise when he was faced with Hinata's mortality.Osamu had warned him time and time again.Or: a story about Atsumu as Apollo and Hinata as Hyacinth, this is the rewritten version of the original 'a sunflower's lover'
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Series: Immortality, Never Finite [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881745
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	A Sunflower's Lover REWRITTEN

**Author's Note:**

> if you've been waiting for the rewritten version, well here you go :))

If Atsumu had to name the sun god, he would say Hinata Shouyou. Because Hinata was the embodiment of the sun. Shining charisma. Orange hair. A bright smile always on his lips. Atsumu loved the way his mouth said ‘Atsumu-san.’

Meeting him was a coincidence. One day, after another dispute with his brother Osamu, Atsumu decided to drop by a local volleyball tournament to lift his spirits. Merchandise and signages decorated the interior: “MSBY Black Jackals vs. Schweiden Adlers.” As he entered, the sun god was met with a wondrous sight as a wing spiker flew, suspended in the air, slamming the ball through three blockers. The crowd cheered; Atsumu stared, fixated on the figure.

He wanted to toss to that guy, Atsumu decided. He licked his lips.

So he met Hinata in his mortal form, hoping to see the man again. And they did. Once. Twice. They met countless times, a human and a god bonding over their shared love for volleyball. Soon, tossing and spiking led to chatting during walks and sharing a bed.

Oh yes, Atsumu fell head over heels for a mortal named Hinata Shouyou.

🌻🌻🌻

“Hello, my name is Atsumu. I love that spike you did in the second set.”

“Oh, thank you!”

A grin and a nod of acknowledgment. The interaction lasted seconds. Yet, Atsumu’s palms were warm and sweaty.

As he stepped away from the line of fans waiting to meet the athlete, Atsumu felt invigorated, walking with a bounce in his step.

Whistling a tune, the god went about his duties, forgetting the spat with his brother.

“Oh, Atsumu-san, right?”

“Yep. Came by to watch your game again, Hinata-kun.”

“Oh!! How did you think I did?”

“Wonderful as always. Your form is beautiful, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata blushed as he signed his autograph on Atsumu’s board. Without the slightest hesitation, the athlete scribbled his number under his signature, handing the board back to the sun god.

“Maybe we can meet sometime outside of my matches.” Hinata flashed a wide smile.

Atsumu nodded, dazed that he got the man’s number.

“Yeah, we definitely should.”

“Text me!”

After Atsumu left the venue, he went to buy himself a phone. Hinata Shouyou’s number was the only contact on his list.

🌻🌻🌻

Atsumu and Osamu sat at the dining table, sipping green tea after dinner. All of the food—the tossed salad and the onigiri—had been eaten and all that was left were dirtied plates.

The sun god sighed happily, belly full of his brother’s delicious food. He put down his cup with a soft clack.

“Atsumu.” Osamu placed down his cup as well. “I hope you realize that your relationship with this mortal won’t last long.”

Atsumu frowned, his good mood gone with the serious conversation. “I appreciate that you’re trying to look out for me but don’t butt into my business.” Unable to meet those piercing gray eyes, Atsumu looked to the side. “By the way, your place has been looking a bit shabby lately. I think I saw some of your houseplants looking quite withered.”

It was true. Jackets and coats laid haphazardly on the sofa, tossed there after a long night. The air felt stale. A thin layer of dust gathered on the top of the furniture. An overflowing laundry basket occupied the hallway, half-hidden in the shadows.

“Who do you think I had to pick up after?” Osamu retorted. “I haven’t had much downtime to do anything but catch up on sleep.”

“Oh.” The word left his mouth, heavy with guilt.

Atsumu stared. A green chicken flaunted a giant bowl of thin, crispy pieces of something he had never seen before. And there was kiwi in it.

‘Ko—n Fure—ku.’

The sun god was mystified. This food item seemed dangerous. He took a box off the shelf and shook it.

“Did you want corn flakes?” Hinata sidled up beside him, pushing a cart. A box of muesli had been added after his long perusal. The cereal sat next to the other items: a bag of apples, three potatoes, two carrots, and a box of mushrooms.

After several dates, Hinata had invited Atsumu over for homemade curry. Having forgotten to shop for the ingredients beforehand, Hinata had to go to the grocery store after practice.

Curious to see how grocery stores were like, Atsumu decided to tag along. More time with Hinata, Atsumu had thought as he caught Hinata’s swinging hand.

“Shouyou-kun! What are these?” Atsumu thrust the box to the human.

“Corn flakes, Atsumu-san,” Hinata repeated. “You never had them before?”

Atsumu shook his head.

“Right then.” Hinata placed the box of corn flakes next to the muesli.

“So how do you eat these corn flakes?” Atsumu asked, following Hinata as he pushed the cart down the aisle.

“They’re a breakfast cereal, like this muesli.” Hinata pointed at the box of muesli. Instead of a caricature of an animal, there were mountains printed on the blue box. ‘Alpen Muesli’ was printed in English. A spoonful of what appeared to be oats, nuts, and raisins with a splash of milk was at the center of the panel.

Atsumu frowned. “That looks different.”

“Yeah, there’s a variety of cereal to choose from. But it’s usually eaten the same way: we pour it in a bowl and then pour milk over it. A simple breakfast,” Hinata explained. “Did you know that corn flakes were an accidental invention?”

“On accident?” Atsumu could not imagine someone making these ‘corn flakes’ without the intention. He shook his head as he listened to Hinata’s ramble. Cute, he thought.

“Yeah. Apparently, the Kellogg brothers—the people who invented this—wanted to make something healthy…”

Instead of making curry as planned, Hinata and Atsumu made themselves cereal for dinner. Atsumu was hyped up on the idea of corn flakes, excited to try it for himself. Hinata, excited for Atsumu, indulged the god.

Curry. Corn Flakes. Hinata side-eyed the man digging into his bowl. There were too many things that Atsumu had never tried or seen. And yet, Atsumu knew his way around sushi restaurants and had a penchant for eating fatty tuna. Hinata wondered about the conundrums surrounding Atsumu. Someone sheltered, born into immense wealth?

Hinata waved the thought away. Whatever the case, he liked the Atsumu he knew.

The two lovers—one god and one human—spent the rest of that day cuddling on Hinata’s well-worn sofa, watching a documentary on corn flakes.

🌻🌻🌻

“Atsumu-san, give me a toss!” Hinata yelled.

“Okay!”

It was another Saturday, the weekends were now reserved for Hinata. (Atsumu was not shirking his duties, no matter what Osamu said.)

After hard training on Fridays, Hinata would arrive on the doorstep of Atsumu’s rented house, a weekend bag slung over his shoulders. Over time, the bag grew lighter and lighter as Hinata left his belongings in the purposely empty drawer, on the countertop in the bathroom, and in the kitchen cabinets.

Sometimes, Atsumu would wake up to the smell of miso and grilled mackerel. Hinata made himself at home, dancing in the kitchen, snacking on a piece of Meiji dark chocolate, a guilty pleasure that he indulged in. Atsumu learned that Hinata could never resist buying some from the nearby convenience store after finding a stash in the fridge. Those idyllic moments allowed Atsumu the pretense of being mortal with his lover.

Playing volleyball with Hinata was another thing he cherished. Just a setter and a spiker.

“Alright, here’s another one!” Atsumu threw what he knew was a perfect toss, his ten fingers touching the ball.

The ball flew towards Hinata who was in mid-air. But instead of landing in the waiting palm, the ball swerved.

“Eh?”

Crack!

Hinata’s neck wrenched to the side from the surprising force of the ball. Pain bloomed before it receded into the recesses of the mind as the young man collapsed onto the ground like a puppet cut from its strings.

“Shouyou-kun! Are you okay?” Atsumu cried, rushing to his lover’s side. He kneeled down, hands hovering over Hinata’s body. “Shouyou…kun?”

Like a broken toy with its head nearly ripped clean, Hinata laid still, his head laying unnaturally to the side. Brown eyes stared into space, unseeing.

Warm.

Hinata was still warm. But the god of healing knew better. Because Hinata was longer breathing. His lungs have stopped functioning. Hinata was suffocating.

No no no no no.

Atsumu muttered to himself. Unwilling to think of his lover’s mortality, Atsumu left Hinata’s side to grab his hydro flask sitting outside of the court. He returned to Hinata, tilting the limp head carefully. He poured ambrosia into his lover’s mouth but it trickled from the corner of his lips.

Atsumu grimaced. He waited, hoping for something to happen. But nothing did. Hinata remained on the ground, sprawled with no heartbeat, no breathing. Atsumu sat, shoulders slumped.

What was life after Hinata? Atsumu could not bear to think of the possibility. Yet, it was staring him in the eyes. It was not a possibility; no, it was reality.

If he was the sun for the whole world, Hinata was **_his_** sun.

Then, Atsumu lifted his head, his eyes hard like flint. Within seconds, Atsumu coaxed more ambrosia down Hinata’s throat.

Sweat gathered on his brow and hands. Pulling the power within him, Atsumu tried to heal the injury. He had to bring Hinata back from the dead, a wish that could only be fulfilled by Oikawa, god of the underworld. Medicine could never overcome the sweet siren of death, always welcoming but possessive of its souls.

 _But Hinata was his sun._ So Atsumu worked, funneling his energy into the body.

He had lived his existence in the dark; he had been deprived of light. And Atsumu was a selfish bastard, unwilling to let things go, to let his lovers go. Like a moth, he chased after each flame for the hope of eternal sunshine. Even after each flame flickered away, he still held onto the hope.

Hinata was supposed to be his promise for eternity. Because he craved for a love that Osamu could never provide, a love that had to be satisfied through the tangle of writhing limbs atop a bed, the murmured sweet nothings in the early morning, the warm embrace around his torso because Hinata could not fully encircle his arms around his neck unless he stood on the tip of his toes.

The word ‘love’ failed to describe the hunger he had for Hinata. He wanted everything.

But the fates were cruel. His lover’s thread was cut. No matter what Atsumu did, it failed. Hinata Shouyou, rising volleyball star in Japan’s V-League, was dead. He could never fly again.

Finally, Atsumu stopped his efforts, forced to face the truth. He cried. Tears dripped onto Hinata’s face. “I’m sorry, Shouyou. I don’t know what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Atsumu sobbed, hunched over his lover.

The god’s tears ran and ran as he continued to mourn for his lover and his unbearable future.

“I love you, Shouyou. Love you so much.”

Hinata did not reply.

As Atsumu wept, he gently took Hinata’s head into his hands, brought his face to his lover’s, and nuzzled his cheek.

He could smell a familiar scent: artificial apples from Hinata’s favorite shampoo. It greeted his nose for what he knew to be the last time. Skin to skin. Smelling fake apples. Atsumu whispered a litany of what-could-have-been, should-have-been, and his lover’s name.

When the god regained his composure, he gathered his power and wrapped it around his lover, tucking Hinata in as he usually did at night.

And then it was over. Atsumu kneeled in the empty indoor court, alone except for a potted plant. He gathered the pot and carried it to his chest as he stood.

“Shouyou-kun, please let me be selfish and stay by my side,” Atsumu said. He smoothed his fingers over the sunflower.

When he returned to his residence, he carefully set the sunflower by his bedroom window.

(News of Hinata’s disappearance circulated and died down. For Atsumu, life returned back to pre-Hinata, dull and monotonous. Yet, as he lived with the sunflower, Atsumu kept Hinata’s belongings in its place, going to lengths to preserve them. They decorated Atsumu's living space here and there, tiny knick knacks that reminded Atsumu of his lover.

Even if the words 'I told you so' bubbled to his lips, Osamu bit them back at the sight of his despondent twin who wore a fake smile like it was his armor. So he did what he could for his brother, making fatty tuna and inviting him over for meals. At the very least, Atsumu could take down his mask and mourn for a futureless dream.)

🌻🌻🌻

Atsumu had known that a god and a human could never be together. They had different paths that were not supposed to cross. But it did. Hinata Shouyou had touched his being, changing him. Now, he forever looked towards Atsumu, waiting, yearning.

And Atsumu reciprocated. He showered the sunflower with all his love. If only he could be mortal for Hinata, if only he could shed his immortality as the sun god.

Time passed and the two stayed together, a god and a sunflower.


End file.
